
Thursday, June 6, 2024
Noon – 1:00 pm / PDT
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How to Write a Winning Book Proposal- A Lunch ‘N Learn with Debra Eckerling
A FREE Virtual Event
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Noon – 1:00 pm / PDT
On the heels of Pitch-O-Rama, WNBA-San Francisco is offering a series of Lunch N Learns, designed to help with your book publishing journey.
Did you know that most non-fiction books are sold with a book proposal?
Join goal strategist Debra Eckerling, author of Your Goal Guide, on May 16 at 12pm PT, for a Lunch ‘N Learn on How to Write a Winning Book Proposal.
Whether you plan to e-publish/self-publish, go hybrid or traditional, a book proposal keeps you organized and focused, while setting you up for success. The creator of the D*E*B METHOD® for goal-setting simplified, Debra will share how to craft the perfect roadmap to reach your non-fiction book-writing goals.
During this session, you will discover what a book proposal is and why it’s important, along with the different elements. This includes the overview, book specs, author platform, detailed outline, audience, and comprehensive titles.
Crafting a winning book proposal requires planning, research, and passion. When you understand the key components, you’ll be better equipped to write a book proposal that not only stands out, but sells.
This workshop is interactive, so there will be opportunities to meet your writing peers, ask questions, and gain solutions and support.
Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning, and Achieving Your Goals and creator of the D*E*B METHOD® for Goal-Setting Simplified. Debra helps busy professionals get their book ideas out of their head and onto the page … with less stress. She also helps them craft book proposals that keep them organized, focused, and positioned for success.
A goals strategist, consultant, and workshop leader, Debra also offers personal and professional planning, event strategy, and team-building for executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, and companies. Debra, who is networking ambassador for WNBA – San Francisco, has spoken on stages for TEDx, Innovation Women, SCORE LA, and more. She is the founder of the Write On Online community, as well as host of the GoalChat live show/podcast and Taste Buds with Deb.
To register, please fill out the form below:
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Please elect this new slate of officers–fill out the form below!
Deadline: May 25, 2024
We welcome the opportunity for ongoing and new WNBA-SF leadership! Please fill out this form to vote for our incoming WNBA-SF Chapter Executive Board. (Please note that in accordance with WNBA-SF bylaws, there are two Vice President positions) If you wish, you may also nominate an active, qualified WNBA-SF Chapter member as an alternative to this slate with their prior, written consent, no later than May 25th, 2024.
Thank you, Debra Eckerling, Board Development/Nomination Chair.
The 2024-2026 online presentation of the Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter (WNBA-SF) Slate of Officers as recommended by the Board Development/Nomination Chair:
SF Chapter Bylaws: Officers and Board appointees shall take office on June 1 following the election or appointment to office. The officers shall serve a term of two years. They may serve two consecutive terms, except for the Treasurer, who may continue to succeed her/him self.
President- Brenda Knight
Brenda Knight began her career at HarperCollins, working with luminaries Paolo Coelho, Marianne Williamson and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Knight was awarded IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year in 2015 at the ALA, American Library Association. Knight is the author of Random Acts of Kindness, The Grateful Table and Women of the Beat Generation, which won an American Book Award. Her recent book, Badass Affirmations, has sold 350,000 copies. She is Publisher at Mango Publishing Group and has served as long-time board member of the Women’s’ National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter and resides in the SF Bay Area.
Co-Vice President – Anniqua Rana
Anniqua Rana is a writer and educator committed to eliminating inequities around her. She has done this in collaboration with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office providing professional development and training to colleges in the Bay Area. She co-founded Aalimocracy.com a volunteer organization providing professional development to educational institutions in Pakistan. She has taught English, ESL, EFL, International Education, and Creative Writing at San Mateo Community Colleges, DeAnza College, University of San Francisco, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan, and Stanford University. Her debut novel, Wild Boar in the Cane Field was shortlisted for Pakistan’s UBL Literary Award 2020. To create a platform for writers she co-founded the blog Tillism.
Co-Vice President – Christina Vo
Christina Vo is a writer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work reflects her commitment to understanding and sharing the complexities of the human experience. Christina’s debut memoir, The Veil Between Two Worlds: A Memoir of Silence, Loss, and Finding Home, demonstrates her ability to weave personal experiences into broader narratives about identity, home, and belonging. Her second book, My Vietnam, Your Vietnam, an intergenerational memoir co-written with her father, will be published in April 2024 and was recently selected for the Ms. Magazine Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2024. She has worked internationally for UNICEF in Vietnam, the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, as well as served as a consultant for nonprofits.
Secretary – Karen Wang Diggs
Karen Wang Diggs is a certified nutritionist, chef, and entrepreneur by day. By night, she reads, writes, and dreams. She is also a history hound keenly interested in the never-ending struggles of girls, women, and anyone who identifies as female. With a keen awareness of history’s patriarchal dominance and the suppression of female voices and achievements, Karen is on a mission. Her sincere hope is that her writing serves as a source of inspiration and enrichment for everyone, contributing to greater gender equality, social justice, and harmony in these challenging times.
Treasurer – Duncan MacLeod
Duncan MacLeod received his MBA from University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. In addition to his work as a personal bookkeeper and finance coach, he’s a writer, advocate, and publisher of financial self-help books, young adult and mental health fiction. He is the owner and publisher at a new press called Jim Dandy Publishing.
Please elect this new slate of officers–fill out the form below!
Deadline: May 25, 2024
Voting stops as of midnight, April 20th, 2022
Thursday, June 27th at 12pm PDT
A FREE Virtual Event
A Lunch and Learn with Lindsey Smith on Zoom
Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!
How to Follow Up with a Literary Agent
Are you looking for a literary agent? Have you sent out your query only to receive a polite rejection letter wishing you well on your publishing journey?
Here’s the reason: Literary agents are overwhelmed. Some receive 1500+ queries a month. But there’s an even bigger reason as to why you are not getting the traction you want.
Join literary agent, Lindsey Smith, for a Lunch and Learn for the Women’s National Book Association – San Francisco Chapter, on Thursday, June 27th at 12pm PDT.
Lindsey will share her expertise and explain the secrets behind her successes in championing the work of her clients. She will demystify the reality behind the art of obtaining a literary agent in our current publishing landscape.
If achieving literary representation for your manuscript is your goal, let Lindsey guide you with her insights and advice to receive a “yes” from the agent of your dreams! Lindsey will share what agents respond to positively, what topics are currently popular in the market, the quickest way to get agents to stop in their tracks, the one thing to absolutely not do if you are serious about getting a literary agent and much more.
We hope to see you there!
Lindsey Smith (Speilburg Literary Agency) represents non-fiction projects. In addition to being a literary agent, she owns a bookstore in her hometown, runs her own publishing press, and is the author of several books and gift products. Having worked in every facet of the publishing industry—from author to publisher, to PR strategist to publicist, she knows the book industry inside and out.
When she’s not helping people write books, she can be found reading old American Girl magazines, listening to Taylor Swift, or playing with her dog, Winnie Cooper.
To register, please fill out the form below:
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Each of them explains their rigorous “vetting” process and subsequent “qualified” picks, and, while the same platforms do show up on some of these lists, the rankings are never predictable.
It really boils down to how much you want to spend, where and how you want the book distributed, how you want to treat your copyright permissions, and what kind of backend reporting system you want.
I’m not going to list the various features of each of the platforms (that’s what those “Best Of” articles are for). What I will do is tell you why I chose the platforms I did.
Hope to see you there!
Claire E. Jones (she/her) is a Queer fantasy romance author as well as a small publisher that supports other writers in getting their works shared with the world. As an established small business and entrepreneurship expert of 20 years, she has founded and launched four of her own businesses and now mentors other creatives, visionaries, and innovators to achieve their goals in less time and with less stress.
She shares a range of diverse novels, planners, and journals with the world from Seattle WA, where she lives with her precious pup, Karma.
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Saturday, April 20, 2024, 8:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. PT
Have you been anxiously waiting to meet the agents and editors attending this year’s edition of Pitch-O-Rama? With April soon approaching, Pitch-O-Rama will be just around the corner, so we’re eager to share the talents who will provide their expertise to those attending.
Haven’t registered yet? Head on to this page to register for Pitch-O-Rama 2024!
Meet the Agents and Editors for Pitch-O-Rama 2024:
Laurie McLean spent 20 years as the CEO of a publicity and marketing agency and 8 years as an agent and senior agent at Larsen Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco. Following a stint as the CEO of a successful Silicon Valley public relations agency bearing her name, Laurie switched gears to immerse herself in writing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the State University of New York and a master’s degree at Syracuse University’s prestigious Newhouse School of Journalism.
Laurie specializes in middle grade, young adult, and adult genre fiction (romance, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thrillers, suspense, horror).
Andy Ross opened his literary agency in January 2008. Before that, he was the owner for 30 years of the legendary Cody’s Books in Berkeley. The agency represents books in a wide range of subjects including narrative non-fiction, science, journalism, history, religion, children’s books, young adult, middle grade, literary and commercial fiction, and cooking. However, he is eager to represent projects in most genres as long as the subject or its treatment is smart, original, and will appeal to a wide readership. In non-fiction, he looks for writing with a strong voice and robust narrative arc by authors with the authority to write about their subject. For literary, commercial, and children’s fiction, he has only one requirement– simple, but ineffable–that the writing reveals the terrain of that vast and unexplored country, the human heart. www.andyrossagency.com, www.andyrossagency.wordpress.com
Born in Port-au-Prince, M.J. Fievre, B.S. Ed, is a longtime educator whose publishingcareer began as a teenager in her native Haiti. At nineteen years old, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps for the publication of a YA book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has released nine YA books in French that are widely read in Europe and the French Antilles, and she is the author of the award-winning Badass Black Girl book series for tweens and teens (in English). As the ReadCaribbean program coordinator for the prestigious Miami Book Fair, M.J. directs and produces the children’s cultural show Taptap Krik? Krak! In addition, M.J. serves as the managing editor of DragonFruit, which publishes high-quality children’s books, which connect with readers by paving the way to lifelong learning.
Leland Cheuk is a MacDowell and Hawthornden Castle Fellow and award-winning author of three books of fiction, most recently the novel NO GOOD VERY BAD ASIAN (2019). Cheuk’s work has been covered in Buzzfeed, The Paris Review, VICE, San Francisco Chronicle, and has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as NPR, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, among other outlets.
He is the founder of the indie press 7.13 Books, which publishes debut book-length fiction. Cheuk is looking for quality works of fiction and short story collections, favoring literary comedies and genre-bending submissions, as well as work from the queer and/or POC writing community.
Georgia Hughes is the editorial director at New World Library, publisher of the Joseph Campbell Library and The Power of Now. She acquires and edits nonfiction books in the areas of spirituality, sustainability, animals, business, women’s issues, and personal growth. Recent acquisitions include, Spiritual Envy by Michael Krasny, Dreaming the Soul Back Home by Robert Moss, Dogs and the Women Who Love Them by Allen and Linda Anderson, Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee, and The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner.
Zeynep Sen graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a B.A. in Literature and Creative Writing. Following graduation, she honed her skills as an agent at the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency. A few years later, Zeynep moved to WordLink Literary Agency, where she now works as a senior agent and foreign rights agent. At WordLink, Zeynap represents her own lists of authors.
She primarily focuses on non-fiction works and Young Adult books. Her list of authors include Nabila Ramdani, Jaha Dukureh, Erik Edstrom, Elvira Gonzales, Elora Dodds, Airy Sindik, and Asli Pelit. Fluent in Spanish and Turkish, Zeynep is drawn to literary and historical works of fiction and narrative non-fiction of international appeal.
Mary E Knippel is an intuitive writing mentor, international speaker, best-selling author, and journalist for over 35 years. She helps women bring their transformational stories to life in the international bestselling Amazon collaboration book series “Written In Her Own Words-Wise Woman Wisdom”. Mary guides her clients through every aspect of the writing journey, from identifying their story to crafting and editing it into their chapter to bringing their stories to the world. She believes everyone has a unique story to tell and encourages daily journaling.
Her memoir, “The Secret Artist-Give Yourself Permission to Let Your Creativity Shine,” came about as she shared how she coped with her breast cancer experiences. You can learn more about how to become an author in the next collaboration book, attend one of her workshops, join her at the next Elite Women’s Writing Retreat, or sign up to receive writing tips on her website: https://yourwritingmentor.com.
Dawn Frederick is the owner of Red Sofa Literary, established in 2008. After earningher B.S. in Human Ecology and M.S. in Library and Information Sciences, she moved to the Twin Cities, to work for a publisher after many years working in indie and chain bookstores. She previously worked at Sebastian Literary Agency and co-founded the MN Publishing Tweet Up (a community social monthly meetup). She has been on the Board of Directors for Loft Literary and was once President of the Twin Cities Community Advisory Council for MPR. Wearing both the hat of librarian and agent, she brings an extensive knowledge and appreciation of the publishing and writing processes.
Lindsey Smith (Speilburg Literary Agency) represents non-fiction projects. In addition to being a literary agent, she owns a bookstore in her hometown, runs her own publishing press, and is the author of several books and gift products. Having worked in every facet of the publishing industry—from author to publisher, to PR strategist to publicist, she knows the book industry inside and out.
When she’s not helping people write books, she can be found reading old American Girl magazines, listening to Taylor Swift, or playing with her dog, Winnie Cooper.
Julia Park Tracey serves as the executive editor for Sibylline and is one of the four founding partners, all book industry women of a certain age. Sibylline publishes the brilliant work of women authors over 50 exclusively and has signed authors through Spring 2025 and now is looking for fiction and memoir for its Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 seasons currently as well as its developing ebook line, Sibylline Digital First, which encompasses all genres, including romance, self-help, and business. Julia is an award-winning journalist, editor, poet laureate, and author of several works of historical fiction for Sibylline Press. After receiving a starred review, The Bereaved: A Novel was named in the top 100 indie books published in 2023 by Kirkus Reviews. Her new novel, Silence, which is due out in Fall 2024, is also based on one of her ancestors, Silence Greenleaf who lived in the Puritan era. Julia lives in the low Sierra of California in a beautifully restored 1880 Victorian, with her family and beloved cats, bees and chickens.
Kat Georges is a poet, playwright, editor, publisher, and graphic designer. She is co-director and an acquisitions editor for Three Rooms Press, an independent publisher inspired by diversity, dada, punk, and passion. Her most recent book is the poetry collection Awe and Other Words Like Wow, and she is co-editor of MAINTENANT, the annual journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art. She lives in New York City. Kat is currently looking for LGBTQ+ fiction and young adult fiction that deal directly with current anti-queer attitudes, mysteries that center on bold and daring diverse main characters, and riveting women of history who need to have more attention given to them. Kat welcomes voices that have something different to say, that inspire readers, and that shows the power of innovative, compelling writing. To see the latest Three Rooms Press releases, visit threeroomspress.com.
Becky Parker Geist is CEO of Pro Audio Voices and has been in the audiobook industry since 1981. As an audiobook publisher and producer, Becky has produced and narrated hundreds of titles, helping authors leverage their content through audio – even if it’s their book’s only published format. Typically, working with authors and publishers comes with the challenge of reaching the widest possible audience, which the Audiobook Marketing Program™ intends to resolve.
Becky serves as President of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association and is a Chapter Leader of Nonfiction Authors Association.
Randy Peyser sells non-fiction manuscripts in all genres and speaks nationally abouthow to earn book deals. She also serves as faculty for CEO Space International, where she teaches about writing book proposals. She is the author of The Write-a-Book Progra; Crappy to Happy as featured in the move Eat, Pray, Love; and The Power of Miracle Thinking.
Her clients’ books have appeared in Oprah, Time Magazine, the bestseller lists of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, in airport bookstores, Office Max and FedEx stores, and on Hallmark TV. Her work is featured in: Healing the Heart of the World, The Marriage of Sex and Spirit, Secrets of Shameless Self-Promoters, and the national bestsellers, Networking Magic Guerilla Publicity and The Profit of Kindness.
Kat Neff, Senior Publicist at Llewellyn Worldwide, the oldest and largest publisher in the mind/body/spirit genre, has over 20 years of experience in book publishing. She has helped countless authors achieve national and international media bookings by creating successful broadcast, online, and print media publicity. Kat is also a frequent speaker on various aspects of book publishing. A long-time publishing professional, Neff has worked as Associate Editor and Marketing Manager at Cleis Press & Viva Editions, Insight Editions, and Red Wheel Weiser & Conari Press.
Eric Lincoln Miller is the founder of 3ibooks Literary Agency in Reno, Nevada.3ibooks is a different kind of literary agency that solely focuses on authors and their needs. Their agency looks for fiction of any genre (romance, horror, mystery/crime, women’s fiction, erotica, science fiction, historical, and fantasy).
Other genres of interest are picture books, young readers, intermediate, and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Additionally, 3ibooks are also interested in art, photography, film and TV, business, mind-body-spirit, and memoirs.
Natalie Obando is a graduate from California State University, Long Beach with a BA in journalism emphasizing public relations and a minor concentration in creative writing. For nearly two decades, she’s worked in the world of books as a book publicist. Natalie is the founder of Do Good Public Relations Group and the grassroots organization, Women of Color Writers Podcast and Programming. She is the current national president of the 105-year-old non-profit, the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA), overseeing all eleven chapters across the nation. As the first Latina president of the national organization, her goal has been promoting diversity in publishing via strategic grassroots efforts. Her dedication to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the book world led her to found and chair Authentic Voices—a four-month long program that immerses people from marginalized communities in a master class of writing, editing, marketing, and publishing. Always looking to amplify BIPOC writers and create community and discussion around diversity in publishing, she recently joined the Ladderbird Literary Agency team. As a literary agent, she hopes to further usher BIPOC writers into careers as authors. FICTION, YA/NEW ADULT ROMANCE Non-Fiction.
Brenda Knight began her career at HarperCollins, working with luminaries Paolo Coelho, Marianne Williamson, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She was awarded IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year in 2014 at the American Literary Association. Knight is the author of Wild Women and Books, The Grateful Table, Be a Good in the World, and Women of the Beat Generation, winner of the American Book Award.
She is the Editorial Director at Mango Publishing and acquires for all genres in fiction and nonfiction, LGBTQ, as well as children and photography books. She is the immediate past President of the Women’s National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter, and an instructor at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference.
Peter Carlaftes is a publisher, poet, playwright, author, and actor. The most recent of his seven published books is the poetry collection, Life in the Past Lane. He is co-director and acquisitions editor for Three Rooms Press, with a strong interest in memoirs, literary fiction, mystery, and fantasy by diverse authors.
He is co-editor of the annual Dada writing and art journal, MAINTENANT. He lives in New York City.
Michael Larsen co-founded Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in 1972. For over four decades, the agency sold hundreds of books to more than 100 publishers and imprints. The agency has stopped accepting new writers, but Mike loves helping all writers. He gives talks about writing and publishing and does author coaching.
He wrote How to Write a Book Proposal and How to Get a Literary Agent, and coauthored Guerilla Marketing for Writers. Mike is co-director of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference.
Thursday, March 7th at 6 P.M. at The Mechanics’ Institute
The Power and Progress of Women’s Voices:
International Women’s Day Event
In Conversation with authors Jia Ling Wang, Salumeh Eslamieh, Sheila Smith McKoy, and Christina Vo, Joan Gelfand, and moderated by Elise Marie Collins
A co-sponsored in-person event with our friends at the Mechanics’ Institute. Sign up on Eventbrite HERE. Use the code WNBA, free for members of our Meetup!
We welcome authors Jia Ling Wang, Salumeh Eslamieh, Sheila Smith McKoy, Christina Vo, and Joan Gelfand in conversation with WNBA-SF president Elise Marie Collins, in a celebration of women writers, artists, and changemakers for International Women’s Day.
By centering women’s lives – socially, politically, and historically – in their work, these authors faithfully capture the diverse spectrum of women’s stories and perspectives. The panelists will also speak to their own experiences in the field of writing and publishing.
About the authors:
Jia Ling Wang (Karen Wang Diggs) is a certified nutritionist, chef, and entrepreneur by day. By night, she reads, writes, and dreams. She is also a history hound keenly interested in the never-ending struggles of girls, women, and anyone who identifies as female. With a keen awareness of history’s patriarchal dominance and the suppression of female voices and achievements, Jia Ling is on a mission. Her sincere hope is that her writing serves as a source of inspiration and enrichment for everyone, contributing to greater gender equality, social justice, and harmony in these challenging times.
Salumeh Eslamieh received her MA in literature and has been a professor of English since 2005 and most recently, Creative Writing. Always inspired to write based on the world around her, a girl on the bus became the subject of one of her short stories, and that short story turned into the first chapter of her novel, Children of a Revolution, a multigenerational family saga that brings together her study of Postcolonial literature with stories she grew up with about the Iranian Revolution. Publication of her short story about the girl on the bus, A Pair of Candelabras, is forthcoming in the 3rd edition of the Women’s National Book Association Anthology.
Sheila Smith McKoy, Ph.D. is an award-winning poet, fiction writer, and filmmaker. Her full-length poetry collection, The Bones Beneath is a haunting new work from Black Lawrence Press. In addition to her poetry and fiction, Smith McKoy has authored and edited numerous scholarly works. Her books include the seminal text in understanding white race riots, When Whites Riot: Writing Race and Violence in American and South African Cultures. She is co-editor of Recovering the African Feminine Divine in Literature, the Arts, and Performing Arts: Yemonja Awakening (2020), and editor of The Elizabeth Keckley Reader: Writing Self, Writing Nation (2016) and The Elizabeth Keckley Reader: Artistry, Culture and Commerce (2017). Smith McKoy has also written, produced, directed or served as executive producer for four documentary films.
Christina Vo is a writer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work reflects her commitment to understanding and sharing the complexities of the human experience. Christina’s debut memoir, The Veil Between Two Worlds: A Memoir of Silence, Loss, and Finding Home, demonstrates her ability to weave personal experiences into broader narratives about identity, home, and belonging. Her second book, My Vietnam, Your Vietnam, an intergenerational memoir co-written with her father, will be published in April 2024 and was recently selected for the Ms. Magazine Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2024. She has worked internationally for UNICEF in Vietnam, the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, as well as served as a consultant for nonprofits.
Joan Gelfand‘s debut memoir, Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution, was published in January 2024 (Post Hill Press). The book chronicles second wave feminism as it grew into a national movement. Berkeley, where Joan lived amongst a community of writers, artists, and musicians was ground zero for some of the movements we are focused on today-Black Lives Matter and metoo. Joan is the author of three volumes of poetry, an award-winning chapbook of short fiction, and a novel, Extreme, which was a finalist in the International Book Awards. Her poem about Lawrence Ferlinghetti was the basis for a film, The Ferlinghetti School of Poetics, which was featured in over twenty international film festivals. A beloved teacher and mentor, Joan is President Emeritus of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) and a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Her guide You Can Be a Winning Writer: The 4 C’s Approach to Author Success is an Amazon #1 bestseller. Joan holds a BA from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Adam Hertz.
Sign up on Eventbrite HERE. Use the code WNBA, free for members of our Meetup!
Thursday, March 21st | Noon – 1:00 pm/ PDT
A Paid Virtual Event- $10 for WNBA members, $20 for non-members
The Heroine’s Journey: A Template for Writers
A Lunch and Learn Discussion with Kate Farrell for Women’s History Month 2024
Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!
Ever wonder why the movie Barbie was a “particular ripple in the universe” as Greta Gerwig, its screenwriter/director, described it? How did the movie appeal more than the average chick flick and become a runaway box office success, breaking records worldwide?
To many, Barbie, in its plot, characters, and tropes is the universal story of the feminine quest based on ancient folk and fairy tales. Barbie is to the heroine’s journey as Star Wars is to the hero’s journey.
Kate Farrell, author and storyteller will discuss the basic elements of the heroine’s journey and compare the Hero’s Journey models of Joseph Campbell and filmmaker Christopher Vogler to the Heroine’s Journey of Carl Jung, Marie-Louise Von Franz, and Clarissa Pinkola Estes.
In this interactive presentation, you’ll hear an age-old folktale of the feminine quest with an emphasis on its main characters, followed by prompts for a free write with time to share a few. We’ll compare iconic films with similar folktale characters like Barbie, Snow White, and the Wizard of Oz.
We’ll discuss how the modern experience for women reflects the basic plot elements of the feminine quest archetype and makes it relevant as a template for writers:
Treachery, Into the Wilderness, Return.
· Treachery: Entanglement
· Into the Wilderness: Escape and Initiation
· Return: Recognition and Self Attainment
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Kate Farrell, author, storyteller, and educator founded the Word Weaving Storytelling Project and published numerous educational materials on storytelling. She has contributed to and edited award-winning anthologies of personal narrative. Her award-winning new book is a timely, how-to guide on the art of storytelling for adults, Story Power: Secrets to Creating, Crafting, and Telling Memorable Stories. She offers workshops on storytelling and the heroine’s journey for libraries and writing groups here.
Kate’s new project offers online and in-person classes with WOVEN: Telling the Heroine’s Journey
Thursday, February 29th @ 12pm PDT
A FREE Virtual Event
Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!
Share what you do and Tell what you need. Think of it as speed-networking with purpose!
Celebrating The Hero in You:
Black History Month Writing Workshop
with Marita Golden
A FREE Virtual Event – Lunch ‘N Learn
Friday, February 23, 2024
Noon – 1:00 pm / PST
Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay! February is a month in which we celebrate African-American men and women heroes. In addition, this year let’s celebrate ourselves, for the many ways in which we perform big and small acts of heroism for ourselves and others.
As we become more conscious of supporting mental health and wellness, acknowledging our gifts, our value, and our heroism becomes part of the new language we are creating.
In this workshop, we will discuss and write about our daily or regular acts of heroism in our family, friendship, and work circles and how those acts have enlarged us.
We’ll talk and write about how heroism for most of us is not exceptional, but built into the fabric of our lives. And we’ll speak the names of the unsung “ordinary” heroes who inspired us.
Using prose or poetry we’ll write about our personal heroes, as well as our own heroic moments.
How have parents, teachers, friends, and strangers, shown up in our lives and lifted us to new heights?
Protected or even saved us?
How have we done the same?
Bring your pen, paper, questions, and get ready to be inspired!
Marita Golden is an award-winning author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. Her books include the novels The Wide Circumference of Love, and After and the memoirs Migrations of the Heart, Saving Our Sons and Don’t Play in the Sun One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex Her most recent work of nonfiction is The New Black Woman: Loves Herself, Has Boundaries, and Heals Every Day, a sequel to her book, The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women.
Marita Golden is a popular speaker who has presented keynote addresses, presentations and lectures in diverse venues from HBCUs, colleges and universities to corporations and nonprofits. She has been a consultant with John Hopkins Medical, presenting quarterly workshops on mental health, radical self-care, and writing as a tool for healing. She has spoken on radical self-care at Yale, MIT, and The Kennedy School of Government.
She is the recipient of many awards including the Writers for Writers Award presented by Barnes & Noble and Poets and Writers, an award from the Authors Guild, and the Fiction Award for her novel After, awarded by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She has lectured and read from her work internationally. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, been featured as a question on Jeopardy, and is a two-time NAACP Image Award nominee. She has been frequently interviewed on NPR.
Co-founder and President Emerita of the Zora Neale Hurston/ Richard Wright Foundation, Marita Golden is a veteran teacher of writing. She taught at the University of Lagos, in Nigeria and has served as a member of the faculties of the MFA Graduate Creative Writing Programs at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University and in the MA Creative Writing Program at John Hopkins University. She has served as Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of the District of Columbia. As a literary consultant, she offers writing workshops, coaching, and manuscript evaluation services. maritagolden.com
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